Kyo is a French rock band with lead vocals by Benoît Poher. The band was active from 1997 to 2005 with three albums Kyo (2000), Le Chemin (2003) and 300 Lésions (2004) and a string of singles. It announced a hiatus in 2005 without a definite break-up. In 2006, Kyo was involved in launching "L'Or de nos vies" written by Kyo and its lead singer Benoît Poher for the Fighting AIDS charity in 2006. Kyo had a comeback in 2013 with the album L'équilibre.

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Biography

Since attending collège in Yvelines, the two brothers, Fabien and Florian Dubos, and two friends Nicolas Chassagne and Benoît Poher, discovered they had the same passion for bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden. In 1997, they met their future manager Yves Michel Akle, who convinced of their potential, introduced them to Sony BMG where they performed and was offered a contract. Their big break came when they performed during a big concert of David Hallyday, son of famous French rocker Johnny Hallyday, also appearing in the music video of one of David Hallyday's music videos as a backing band.

They have since released three albums and one DVD entitled Kyosphere. After limited success of self-titled debut album Kyo that sold around 40,000 copies, their sophomore album Le Chemin sold 1in comparison 1.5 million copies, and a peak at number 2 on the French Albums Chart. They retreated for a house in Brittany, where they worked on their new album 300 Lésions. That album went gold in four days with sales reaching upwards of 500,000 copies, and peaked at number 1 on the French Albums Chart.

In 2005, the band announced a hiatus, but without a definite break-up.

Fight Aids charity single

The band would be instrumental in launching Fight Aids single "L'Or de nos vies", co-written by Kyo and their lead singer Benoît "Ben" Poher and produced by François Delabrière and Kyo. Seventeen artists pitched in including Anggun, Bénabar, Amel Bent, Patrick Bruel, Corneille, Emma Daumas, Jenifer, Kyo, Leslie, Emmanuel Moire, M. Pokora, Roch Voisine, Stéphanie de Monaco, Tété. The revenues from the sale of the single and downloads was donated to F.A.M. (Fight Aids Monaco) charity, in support of building a house called "maison de vie" (house of life) near Avignon which offers both psychological and material aid to persons living with either HIV and AIDS and their families. The song released on 28 July 2006 received wide media coverage and reached number 5 in SNEP, the French singles chart. NRJ 12 also broadcast on 15 August 2006, a 24-minute documentary about "making of" of the music video and interviews with participating artists.

Comeback (2013–present)

In June 2013, it was revealed that Kyo were planning a comeback and were in the process of recording material at Gang Studio with producer Mark Plati. The singles "Le Graal" and "L'équilibre", from the upcoming album, were pre-released at the end of January 2014.

In popular culture

The song "Le Chemin" was used as the ending of the second episode of the anime OVA Strait Jacket.

The song "Contact" from 300 Lésions was used in the soundtrack for the video game FIFA 06.

Members

Benoît Poher - Lead vocals

Benoît "Ben" Poher born June 27, 1979 in Yvelines, Paris, France (in the Paris area) is a singer, songwriter and lyricist who continued in the French rock band Empyr alongside Florian Dubous, another member of Kyo. He has also co-written for a number of artists including Johnny Hallyday, Jenifer, as well as a number of musical comedies and television series.

Fabien Dubos - Drums

Fabien "Fab" Dubos born 3 June 1978 is the older brother of bassist of band Florian> He was a massive fan of Japanese manga. He named the band after character Kyo Kusanagi in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series. With a hiatus of the band, he joined as singer, guitarist and drummer for the French rock and rap formation Crew Z.

Florian Dubos - Guitar / Backing Vocals / Bass

Florian "Flo" Dubos born 26 March 1980 and younger brother of Fabien Dubos. Also joined Benoît Poher in Empyr as bass player